John Harbaugh and the New York Giants lost a former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver to injury in offseason workouts. To replace him, Harbaugh is partially turning to another former Steelers wideout.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday morning the Giants will host veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a workout. Along with fellow veterans Braxton Berrios and Odell Beckham Jr., Smith-Schuster will work out for the Giants on Monday.
Smith-Schuster played in Kansas City with Giants OC Matt Nagy.
Smith-Schuster played the first five seasons of his career for the Steelers. He became a fan favorite while averaging 15.8 yards per catch as a rookie and entertaining fans with his social media accounts.
During his second NFL season, Smith-Schuster posted a career-best 111 receptions and 1,426 receiving yards. Behind those statistics, he made his only Pro Bowl during 2018.
Last season, Smith-Schuster had 33 receptions, 345 receiving yards and one touchdown for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Giants are hosting receivers for workouts the same day Gunner Olszewski is scheduled for surgery. Olszewski suffered a torn Achilles tendon during Friday’s practice at Giants offseason workouts.
Olszewski played in 18 games for the Steelers from 2022-23.
UPDATE: Schefter reported Monday afternoon the Giants signed Smith-Schuster to a 1-year deal. Harbaugh and the Giants also added Beckham and Berrios to their offseason roster.
Giants now have added WRs Odell Beckham Jr., Braxton Berrios and Smith-Schuster.
John Harbaugh, Giants Interested in WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
Smith-Schuster has spent his entire 9-year NFL career in the AFC. But the 29-year-old wideout could switch conferences while playing for a longtime AFC North head coach if he signed with the Giants.
Toward the end of his Steelers tenure, Smith-Schuster began dealing with injuries. After his career best 2018 campaign, the wideout sustained a concussion and knee ailment during 2019.
In 2021, Smith-Schuster missed the final 12 regular season games because of a shoulder injury.
During the season in between, the wideout had a career-high nine touchdowns in 2020. He was also one of three Steelers wideouts with 800 receiving yards while leading the team with 97 catches.
But Smith-Schuster averaged just 8.6 yards per catch.
Part of the low average was Ben Roethlisberger’s lack of downfield throwing late in his career. But since leaving Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster has posted just only 11.2 yards per reception in 58 games.
During 2022, the veteran wideout had 78 catches, 933 receiving yards and three scores playing with Patrick Mahomes. He’s had 836 receiving yards since then.
Still, Smith-Schuster will have an opportunity to continue his career for a Giants team potentially desperate for more pass-catchers.
Similar to Smith-Schuster, Berrios and Beckham are past their prime but could still be a quality receiver addition in the right situation. Berrios would likely provide more as a returner than either Smith-Schuster or Beckham.
Olszewski has primarily been a returner in his NFL career.
Giants Trying to Replace Gunner Olszewski
The former All-Pro returner left the Giants practice Friday afternoon on a cart. After further testing, the initial fear that he had suffered a serious injury was confirmed with the diagnosis on his Achilles tendon.
If there wasn’t enough irony with Harbaugh potentially signing Smith-Schuster, Olszewski also previously played for the Steelers.
In 18 games, Olszewski started two contests in Pittsburgh, posting six catches for 53 yards. Unfortunately for the Steelers, Olszewski experienced some of his worst NFL performances with the black and gold. On special teams, he returned nine punts for 63 yards and five kickoffs for 70 yards.
Olszewski averaged just 14 yards per kickoff return while with the Steelers. His career average sits at 23.7.
The Steelers waived Olszewski in October 2023. He signed with the Giants practice squad three days later.
With the New England Patriots, Olszewski made first-team All Pro during 2020.
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